What We Are Reading Today: Barnett Newman: Here by Amy Newman

What We Are Reading Today: Barnett Newman: Here by Amy Newman
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Updated 01 November 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: Barnett Newman: Here by Amy Newman

What We Are Reading Today: Barnett Newman: Here by Amy Newman

Barnett Newman (1905–1970), a founding member of the abstract expressionist movement, was a contemporary of such figures as Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, and Clyfford Still.

He left behind only 118 finished paintings, six sculptures, and 83 acknowledged drawings, yet is often regarded as the greatest painter to have emerged after the Second World War.

This landmark book features original research conducted over decades, using scores of interviews, oral histories, and previously unseen correspondence to paint a richly textured portrait of a creative sage.


What We Are Reading Today: The Finest Hotel in Kabul

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Updated 08 November 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: The Finest Hotel in Kabul

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  • The author provides an absorbing people’s history of Afghanistan through the narration of the history of the Intercontinental Hotel (Inter-Con) in Kabul — from its inauguration in 1969 till date

Author: Lyse Doucet 

In “The Finest Hotel in Kabul,” BBC journalist Lyse Doucet tells the story of a country through what was once its most luxurious hotel.

The author provides an absorbing people’s history of Afghanistan through the narration of the history of the Intercontinental Hotel (Inter-Con) in Kabul — from its inauguration in 1969 till date. 

The account of how the hotel ownership and management changed hands during the protracted wars in Afghanistan and people who worked there makes for interesting reading.